Published in February 4th, 2010
Here’s a rather disturbing article published by CNN today. Apparently, many “states mandate that newborns be tested for anywhere between 28 and 54 different conditions, and the DNA samples are stored in state labs for anywhere from three months to indefinitely, depending on the state.”
I live in California and we did have our baby [...]
continue reading.....
Published in December 3rd, 2009
From the NYT:
“The National Institutes of Health said Wednesday that it had approved 13 new human embryonic stem cell lines for use by federally financed researchers, with 96 more under review.”
and
“Researchers’ interest in human embryonic stem cells has abated since the discovery in 2007 by the Japanese biologist Dr. Shinya Yamanaka that the mature [...]
continue reading.....
Published in November 6th, 2009
Another innovative idea from Ray Kurzweil. He proposes, “a collaborative technology incubator between Israel and Palestine.” According to reports, the proposal was widely met with enthusiasm and support in both public and private sessions.
Would it work? Maybe, and it probably wouldn’t hurt. It would be nice to see human energy in [...]
continue reading.....
Published in November 5th, 2009
What a weird story. Brings to light the problems that can occur if we start to think that genes explain everything. From the New Scientist:
“A judge’s decision to reduce a killer’s sentence because he has genetic mutations linked to violence raises a thorny question – can your genes ever absolve you of responsibility [...]
continue reading.....
Published in October 7th, 2009
I mentioned this on Twitter yesterday, but I thought I would also blog about this WSJ story since they have a nice graphic showing how telomeres work. One of the three winners of the Nobel prize, Elizabeth Blackburn, is local to me and I have met with her to discuss her work. She [...]
continue reading.....
Published in August 14th, 2009
“We’re at the beginning of an unmanned revolution.” That’s what Gary Kessler, who oversees unmanned aviation programs for the US Navy and Marines, told the AFP.
According to the article, “Robots or “unmanned systems” are now deployed by the thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan, spying from the sky for hours on end, searching [...]
continue reading.....
Published in July 3rd, 2009
The below text is from a speech given by Hawking at TED in 2008. He expects that humans will be able to repair and alter themselves, which will create new political issues. That just happens to be the topic of a book I am working on at the moment, so nice to see [...]
continue reading.....
Published in May 13th, 2009
Interesting op-ed from the LAT by Marion Roach. Most relevant graph:
“When he campaigned, Obama said he supported the “therapeutic cloning of stem cells.” But as president, he has already traded that position for one that some see as more politically realistic. Under the compromise plan, the president proposed that federal dollars be allowed to [...]
continue reading.....
Published in May 6th, 2009
Here’s an informative article from h+ magazine on how the FDA currently argues that culturing adult stem cells amounts to the creation of a new drug. This of course would mean long time lags for getting stem cell procedures approved, which has prompted the creation of at least two groups: the American Stem Cell [...]
continue reading.....
Published in April 9th, 2009
From NewScientist:
“SPERM should be subject to the same product liability laws as car brakes, according to a US judge who has given a teenager with severe learning disabilities the go-ahead to sue the sperm bank that provided her with a biological father.
Brittany Donovan, now 13 years old, was born with fragile X syndrome, a genetic [...]
continue reading.....
Published in March 24th, 2009
My friend RU Sirius is the editor for this new magazine, and the website just went live. It’s a great collection of tech, science, and cultural trends that are changing humans and the world. And, if you are interested, you can see one of my articles in the inaugural issue.
continue reading.....
Published in March 13th, 2009
And guess what? One of them happens to be the topic of the book I am currently writing.
continue reading.....
Published in January 8th, 2009
A doctor in NY wants the kidney he donated to his wife back (or the financial equivalent) as part of the divorce settlement. He says a kidney is worth 1.5 million, so that’s what he’s looking to get. Pretty interesting. Hat tip to PJ Manney for flagging this news.
continue reading.....
RSS 2.0
